Salvation, page 4

Provision, election, atonement, faith, security. Most of the argument lives here.

121 questions answered, showing 18 on page 4 of 7. About this doctrine · All topics

• Whosoever WillIn 2 Peter 1:9, was the man who 'hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins' ever really saved?Whosoever Will, The Man Who Forgot He Was Clean: Now read what Peter actually wrote. The Greek is not a verb at all. It is a noun with the article standing on it, tou katharismou, the cleansing, and it is the cleansing of the sins that used to be his. One definite purgation, named as an event, belonging to a period Peter marks as long past. It is the same noun the writer to the Hebrews reaches for when he says that Christ had by himself purged our sins. There is blood behind that noun. And Peter does not say this man appeared to be cleansed. He does not say he professed cleansing. He names the cleansing as a thing that happened, and then says the man forgot it. You cannot forget something that never occurred. The whole force of the warning depends on the cleansing being real. Peter is not exposing a fraud who was never washed. He is grieving over a believer who was genuinely, historically washed and is now living in total amnesia about it. Scripture, King James Version: 2 Peter 1:9, "But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.".
• Whosoever WillIn Ephesians 2:8, is faith the gift of God?Whosoever Will, The Address of Election: And the last words of 2:8, “and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” “That” and “faith” are different genders in Greek, the way “it” cannot point at “her” in English, so “that” cannot be pointing at faith, and careful Reformed scholars say so. “That” points at the whole, salvation by grace through faith. Whether faith is a gift is argued from other texts, Philippians 1:29 and Acts 13:48 among them, and the Romans essay answers those where they live. Scripture, King James Version: Philippians 1:29, "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;"; Acts 13:48, "And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed."; Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:".
• Whosoever WillIs "once saved, always saved" biblical? Can a Christian lose salvation?Yes, it is biblical, and no, a true believer cannot be lost. The moment a person believes he is sealed with the Holy Spirit "unto the day of redemption" (Eph 1:13, 4:30), and Jesus says of His own, "they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand" (John 10:28). The security rests on Christ's grip, not the believer's.
• Whosoever WillIs believing a work? Is salvation by faith a form of works-salvation?No. Paul makes faith the opposite of a work: "to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Rom 4:5). Receiving a gift does not earn it.
• With Chuck SmithIs believing in Jesus a decision I make?Chuck Smith, at Pilate's question: "you are not determining His destiny; but in reality, you are determining your destiny. To believe in Him, to receive Him, to confess Him is to receive eternal life." John puts the same receiving at the center: "as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God" (John 1:12). Read Chuck on Mark 15:2 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
• Whosoever WillIs free will the same as autonomy?Whosoever Will, Knowing Isn't Writing: When someone says I am smuggling in autonomy, I want the word defined. Autonomy is self-law, answerable to no one. The freedom I hold is a creature’s. God set the man in a garden and said, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it” (Genesis 2:16-17). That is a free man under a command, with a penalty, sustained every moment by the one who spoke. Moses set the same shape before Israel: “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19). If you want the Reformed tradition’s own words, Westminster has them. God “hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that it is neither forced, nor, by any absolute necessity of nature, determined to good, or evil” (IX.1). Not forced. Not determined by nature. That is not Sartre. It is a will that can answer or refuse, and is judged for which. Scripture, King James Version: Genesis 2:16-17, "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."; Deuteronomy 30:19, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:".
• Whosoever WillIs Jesus the only way to heaven? Are there many paths to God?Jesus is the only way. He said it Himself: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6), and the apostles preached "there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
• Whosoever WillIs Provisionism Pelagian (or semi-Pelagian)? Doesn't it teach that man saves himself by his own will?No. Pelagianism is the teaching that a man can come to God by unaided nature, with no grace needed. Provisionism teaches the opposite: no man comes without grace. "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (John 6:44). Faith "cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). The Spirit convicts (John 16:8). Pull grace out and no one is ever saved. That is not Pelagius; it is the exact denial of him. Semi-Pelagianism (condemned at Orange, 529) is the claim that the first move toward God comes from unaided man before grace; Provisionism holds the opposite order, grace is first. What Provisionism denies is not that grace is necessary, but that grace works irresistibly. Denying irresistible grace makes a view non-Calvinist, not Pelagian.
• With Chuck SmithIs struggling with sin a sign that I am not really saved?Chuck Smith, Why Grace Changes Everything, chapter 9: In one sense, the fact that a battle exists at all is a real cause for rejoicing. If we hadn't been made alive spiritually by God, there would be no conflict. If my spirit were still dead in trespasses and sins, I wouldn't be struggling with evil desires. I would dive right in and live after the flesh. The fact that we find ourselves in this fight is strong proof that we are indeed children of God. From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.
• Whosoever WillIs the invitation of Revelation 22:17 addressed only to believers?The last two clauses are third person imperatives with substantival participles and no restrictor: let the one thirsting come, let the one willing take. Not the elect who thirst. Anyone in that state. The addressee of the first two imperatives is genuinely disputed and the argument does not rest on it.
• With Chuck SmithIs unbelief an intellectual problem?Chuck Smith, The Unpardonable Sin (Matthew 12:22-32): And don’t try to give Him that baloney that you had too many intellectual difficulties. Because He will blow that one write out of the water. He said the reason you didn’t come to the light is because you loved darkness rather than light because your deeds are evil. It is not an intellectual problem that’s keeping you back from Jesus Christ. It’s a love for sin, it’s the evil heart that you have. Your desire to persist and continue in your evil perverse way. That’s what keeps you from coming to Jesus Christ. Scripture, King James Version: John 3:19, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.". From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.
• Whosoever WillWas Judas predestined to betray Jesus?No. God foreknew the betrayal and foretold it, but foreknowing a free act is not causing it. The prophecies describe what Judas would freely do; they do not force his hand or prove he was created to be damned.
• Whosoever WillWhat did Caiaphas prophesy in John 11:51-52?Whosoever Will, Not For Ours Only: John puts the same reach into the cross itself. At the plot to kill Jesus, Caiaphas says more than he knows, and John records that "he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad" (John 11:51-52). The death was aimed past one nation, to gather the scattered into one. Scope is written into the account of the cross, not read back onto it. Scripture, King James Version: John 11:51-52, "And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.".
• Whosoever WillWhat does 'compel them to come in' mean in Luke 14:23?Whosoever Will, Jesus Never Told a Calvinist Parable: The Great Banquet. Luke 14:16-24. The same supper from Luke's side, where the refusal comes dressed as excuses. “And they all with one consent began to make excuse.” (v.18) The verb is paraiteomai, to beg off, a chosen declining. The master's answer is not a shorter list but a fuller house: “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” (v.23) The compelling, anagkason, is a servant's urgent entreaty aimed at hedge-dwellers who would never believe a lord's table was for them. It cannot mean irresistible inward compulsion, because three verses earlier the first guests freely made their excuses, and a master who could compel hearts would never have been refused at all. Scripture, King James Version: Luke 14:16-24, "Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.".
• Whosoever WillWhat does 'I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy' mean (Exodus 33:19, Romans 9:15)?Whosoever Will, The Grammar of Romans: So read what is around it in Exodus. Chapter 32: Israel has just made the golden calf. God says He will destroy them. Moses pleads. God relents. Then, in 33:19, God says He is free to be gracious to whom He will. The freedom He is declaring is the freedom to PARDON a nation that had just earned destruction. It is not the freedom to pick the damned. And the very next thing He says about Himself, 34:6, is “merciful and gracious, longsuffering.” The sentence “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious” is a way of saying “and I will not explain myself.” It declines to give reasons. It does not say there are none. So the verse doing that much work in the argument is a verse about God pardoning people who had earned destruction. Scripture, King James Version: Exodus 33:19, "And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy."; Romans 9:15, "For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.".
• Whosoever WillWhat does 'make your calling and election sure' mean (2 Peter 1:10)?Whosoever Will, There Is No Calvinist Election in the Bible: “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure.” (2 Peter 1:10) Make it sure. A command to the man, about his election, with “if ye do these things” attached. The other side reads both of these verses as election known by its fruit and confirmed in assurance: the man active in diligence, passive in the decree. That is their reading and it is coherent. I refuse the split, because Paul does not write “knowing the fruit of your election” and Peter does not write “make your assurance of it sure.” Both name the election itself as the thing known and the thing made sure, and neither adds a decree behind it. That is a reading, and I am naming it as one. Scripture, King James Version: 2 Peter 1:10, "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:".
• Whosoever WillWhat does 'partakers of the divine nature' mean in 2 Peter 1:4? Do Christians become gods?Whosoever Will, The Man Who Forgot He Was Clean: Now, this phrase has been abused, so let me be plain about what it does not mean. It does not mean you become God. It does not mean you become a god, or a spark of divinity, or that you had the divine nature buried in you all along and just needed to uncover it. Some traditions have pushed it exactly that far, and the text will not carry the weight. Peter is not describing deification into godhood. Watch how the verse defines itself: partaking of the divine nature is immediately explained as having escaped the corruption that is in the world. The divine nature you come to share is moral. God's holiness, God's character, God's uncorrupted life, flowing into a creature who was rotting, and beginning to make that creature clean and alive from the inside. That is the real marvel, and it is bigger than the counterfeit. You do not become God. You become, for the first time, the kind of creature God made you to be, with His own life and character running through you, His holiness becoming yours, His love becoming the thing you are made of. That is union with Christ. You are hidden in Him, and His nature is becoming yours. And it is a gift, given through His promises, before Peter asks you to do a single thing. Scripture, King James Version: 2 Peter 1:4, "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.".
• With Chuck SmithWhat does "choose you this day whom ye will serve" mean?Chuck Smith read Joshua's challenge as real choice: "Each man chooses, not if you will serve or not, but who you will serve." Joshua put it to the whole nation: "choose you this day whom ye will serve" (Joshua 24:15). Read Chuck on Joshua 24:15 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.